Juha Sjoeblom Profile

Juha Sjoeblom
Juha Sjoeblom.

I have been interested in world heritage from year 2008 and I have visited sites since then whenever possible. I usually travel 3-5 times a year. My main areas of interest are Northern Africa, Middle East, Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia.

I'm an independent traveller and when travelling, I want to use public transport as much as possible. Since the sites are not always easy to reach, I’m curious how other travellers have got to them.

I’ll write reviews when I supposedly have some fresh point of view or when the site has only very few reviews. I also tell my overall feelings about the site and how I have travelled to it.

Finland Last Update 24.05.21 178 WHS Visited 29 Reviews 175 WHS Rated 41 TWHS Visited

Visited Sites Juha Sjoeblom

Load map Toggle Missing/Visited

Legend

  • ●● Cultural
  • ●● Natural
  • ●● Mixed

Recent Reviews Juha Sjoeblom

The Ringed Seal Archipelagos of Lake Saimaa (T)

Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 22-Jun-21

The Ringed Seal Archipelagos of Lake Saimaa (T)

Site visited May 2021. Ringed seal archipelagos of Lake Saimaa were a nice experience. It was also something new to me in my home country. This natural site may not be for everyone, but those who want to see the rare seals, and those who love birdwatching, pristine lake nature and beautiful landscapes will be pleased. I spent two days exploring some of the elements of this tentative site.

When Finland announced a revised list of tentative sites in 2021, it presented one totally new site which seemed right away a logical move. Saimaa ringed seals – of course. It is hard to think any other object in Finland with so much positive impression and support from Finnish people.

Read On

Stari Ras and Sopocani

Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 27-May-20

Stari Ras and Sopocani

Site visited July 2016. Stari Ras and Sopoćani is generally least known and visited among the six Yugoslavian sites which were inscribed in 1979. Although the name makes you think that there are two sites the inscription consists of four separate sites around the town of Novi Pazar. This group of medieval monuments of the first capital of Serbia gives you an interesting insight to the history of the country.

I travelled to Novi Pazar by bus from Belgrad and visited the Studenica Monastery during the trip

Read On

Djémila

Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 01-May-20

Djémila

Site visited December 2013. The Arabic name of the ancient Roman city of Cuicul is Djémila which means ”beautiful”. The site really matches its newer name because it is probably the most beautiful and scenic of all the Roman sites in Algeria. I think it is also one of the top three Roman sites of Africa.

Cuicul was an ancient Roman colony and a military garrison founded in the 1st century. It is built on an altitude of 900 metres on a narrow triangular plateau

Read On

The historical surroundings of Crimean Khans' capital in Bakhchysarai (T)

Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 24-Apr-20

The historical surroundings of Crimean Khans

I visited this site during my tour of Ukraine on July 2013. The former capital of Crimean Khanate with its diverse cultural sites and great sceneries made a good impression on me, and it is also a very nice place to visit. Bakhchysarai is one of those sites which deserve to be included to the World Heritage List, but the current situation is very difficult for it.

At the moment there are two sites of Bakhchysarai on the Ukrainian tentative list: the other one is just for the Khan’s Palace, and the other one is the historic monuments of Bakhchysarai Valley from the Khan’s Palace to the Chufut-Kale. I would support the latter because there are a rich array of cultural sights in and around the city of Bakhchysarai.

Read On

Timgad

Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 10-Apr-20

Timgad

Site visited December 2013. Timgad is the largest and arguably the best of the Roman archaeological sites of Algeria. I think it is also one of top three Roman sites of Africa and, I dare to say, probably among the best outside of Italy. Timgad is not known for its imposing buildings but for town planning and well preserved grid plan. In this review I focus mainly on the practical issues of visiting Timgad.

Algeria, especially the eastern part of the country, is one of the hotspots of Roman archaeological sites. Apart from the inscribed ones there are several sites worth mentioning: Tiddis, Madauros (Madaure), Hippo Regius (Hippone), Theveste, Thubursicum and Lambaesis. Many of these have been collected to a TWHS Sites, lieux et itineraires augustiniens du Maghreb central.

Read On

Profile Data

Name
Juha Sjoeblom
Country
Finland
Most Impressive
Medina of Fez, Lalibela

Recently Visited WHS

Update 24.05.21
  • Hierapolis-Pamukkale
  • Pergamon
  • Ephesus
  • Aphrodisias
    • Rating Stats
    Bukhara 5
    Istanbul 5
    Lalibela 5
    Machu Picchu 5
    Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor 5
    Meidan Emam, Esfahan 5
    Petra 5
    Samarkand 5
    Silk Roads 5
    Simien National Park 5
    Acropolis 4.5
    Baalbek 4.5
    Grand Canal 4.5
    Itchan Kala 4.5
    Medina of Fez 4.5
    Persepolis 4.5
    St. Petersburg 4.5
    Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines 4.5
    Aachen Cathedral 4
    Aksum 4
    Amphitheater of El Jem 4
    Aphrodisias 4
    Auschwitz Birkenau 4
    Byblos 4
    Caral-Supe 4
    Chavin 4
    Cracow 4
    Djémila 4
    Dougga/Thugga 4
    Ephesus 4
    Fasil Ghebbi 4
    Hierapolis-Pamukkale 4
    Kotor 4
    Kremlin and Red Square 4
    Longmen Grottoes 4
    M'Zab Valley 4
    Masjed-e Jâme' 4
    Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi 4
    Medina of Marrakesh 4
    Pergamon 4
    Ping Yao 4
    Plitvice Lakes 4
    Split 4
    Timgad 4
    Trier 4
    Tyre 4
    Upper Middle Rhine Valley 4
    West Norwegian Fjords 4
    Wudang Mountains 4
    Agrigento 3.5
    Cuzco 3.5
    Dengfeng 3.5
    Falun Great Copper Mountain 3.5
    Gamzigrad-Romuliana 3.5
    Haghpat and Sanahin 3.5
    Huascaran National Park 3.5
    Island of Patmos 3.5
    Kairouan 3.5
    Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou 3.5
    Kyiv 3.5
    L'viv 3.5
    Lima 3.5
    Mont-Saint-Michel 3.5
    Paris, Banks of the Seine 3.5
    Persian Garden 3.5
    Qadisha Valley 3.5
    Qhapaq Ñan 3.5
    Rabat 3.5
    Sintra 3.5
    Statue of Liberty 3.5
    Trinity Sergius Lavra 3.5
    Venetian Works of Defence 3.5
    Vilnius 3.5
    Visby 3.5
    Volubilis 3.5
    White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal 3.5
    Altamira Cave 3
    Amsterdam Canal Ring 3
    Anjar 3
    Archaeological Site of Aigai 3
    Arles 3
    Avignon 3
    Bauhaus Sites 3
    Belem 3
    Berat and Gjirokastra 3
    Bryggen 3
    Burgos Cathedral 3
    Butrint 3
    Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik 3
    Cologne Cathedral 3
    Corfu 3
    Delos 3
    Drottningholm 3
    Echmiatsin and Zvartnots 3
    Euphrasian Basilica in Porec 3
    Gobustan Rock Art 3
    Kalwaria Zebrzydowska 3
    Kew Gardens 3
    Kronborg Castle 3
    Maritime Greenwich 3
    Medieval Monuments in Kosovo 3
    Medina of Essaouira 3
    Medina of Tunis 3
    Meknes 3
    Monastery of Geghard 3
    Mostar 3
    Mtskheta 3
    Museumsinsel (Museum Island) 3
    Novodevichy Convent 3
    Ohrid Region 3
    Old Rauma 3
    Pasargadae 3
    Petäjävesi Old Church 3
    Quseir Amra 3
    Roskilde Cathedral 3
    Schönbrunn 3
    Site of Carthage 3
    Skogskyrkogarden 3
    Stari Ras and Sopocani 3
    Stevns Klint 3
    Stećci 3
    Studenica Monastery 3
    Syracuse 3
    Tallinn 3
    Tauric Chersonese 3
    Thessalonika 3
    Trogir 3
    Urnes Stave Church 3
    Val di Noto 3
    Verla Groundwood and Board Mill 3
    Vienna 3
    Vizcaya Bridge 3
    Walled City of Baku 3
    Westminster 3
    Arab-Norman Palermo 2.5
    Asturian Monuments 2.5
    Atapuerca 2.5
    Berlin Modernism Housing Estates 2.5
    Birka and Hovgarden 2.5
    Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye 2.5
    Curonian Spit 2.5
    Engelsberg Ironworks 2.5
    Gammelstad 2.5
    High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago 2.5
    Jelling 2.5
    Kasbah of Algiers 2.5
    Luther Memorials 2.5
    Medina of Sousse 2.5
    Residence of Bukovinian & Dalmatian Metropolitans 2.5
    Riga 2.5
    Rjukan / Notodden 2.5
    Shakhrisyabz 2.5
    Sheki 2.5
    Sulaiman-Too 2.5
    Tipasa 2.5
    Tower of London 2.5
    Yin Xu 2.5
    Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust 2
    Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland 2
    Fortress of Suomenlinna 2
    Golestan Palace 2
    Grand Place, Brussels 2
    Kernavë 2
    Laurisilva of Madeira 2
    Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge 2
    Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos 2
    Sammallahdenmäki 2
    Stari Grad Plain 2
    Um er-Rasas 2
    Yuso and Suso Monasteries 2
    Zollverein 2
    Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz 1.5
    Mir Castle 1.5
    Tiya 1.5
    Nesvizh 1
    Primeval Beech Forests
    Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
    Struve Geodetic Arc
    1. Amalienborg and its district (T)
    2. Ancient Greek Theatres (T)
    3. Archaeological site of Laodikeia (T)
    4. Bagçesaray Palace of the Crimean Khans (T)
    5. Brooklyn Bridge (T)
    6. Casablanca, Ville du XXème siécle, carrefour d'influences (T)
    7. Central Park (T)
    8. City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (T)
    9. Cultural Landscape of Canyon in Kamenets-Podilsk (T)
    10. Diocletian's Palace and the Historical Nucleus of Split (extension) (T)
    11. Historical Lisbon, Global City (T)
    12. Jame' (Congregational) Mosque of Esfahan (T)
    13. Jerash Archaeological City (Ancient Meeting Place of East and West) (T)
    14. Kyiv: Saint Sophia Cathedral with Related Monastic Buildings, St. Cyril's and St. Andrew's Churches, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (T)
    15. Levadas of Madeira Island (T)
    16. Monastery of St. Amenaprkich (New Julfa Vank) (T)
    17. Moulay Idriss Zerhoun (T)
    18. Nasqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab (T)
    19. Persepolis and other relevant buildings (T)
    20. Pombaline Lisbon (T)
    21. Rade de Marseille (T)
    22. Salt Mines of Maras (T)
    23. Sarajevo - unique symbol of universal multiculture - continual open city (T)
    24. Seljuk Caravanserais on the route from Denizli to Dogubeyazit (T)
    25. Site of the Retiro and the Prado in Madrid (T)
    26. Sites of Globalization (T)
    27. Surakhany, Atashgyakh (Fire - worshippers, temple - museum at Surakhany) (T)
    28. Tape Sialk (T)
    29. The Tara National Park with the Drina River Canyon (T)
    30. Tbilisi Historic District (T)
    31. The Architectural Works of Alvar Aalto - a Human Dimension to the Modern Movement (T)
    32. The Caspian Shore Defensive Constructions (T)
    33. The historical surroundings of Crimean Khans' capital in Bakhchysarai (T)
    34. The Historical Village of Abyaneh (T)
    35. The Historical-Cultural Axis of Fin, Sialk, Kashan (T)
    36. The monastery of Noravank and the upper Amaghou Valley (T)
    37. The Persian House in Central plateau of Iran (T)
    38. The Ringed Seal Archipelagos of Lake Saimaa (T)
    39. The Zandiyeh Ensemble of Fars Province (T)
    40. Trakai Historical National Park (T)
    41. Zadar - Episcopal complex (T)

    Reviewed TWHS

    Top 50 Missing Sites

    1. Baikonur Cosmodrome / Cape Canaveral
    2. City of Herat
    3. Ensemble du site naturel de la région du Chouf avec les monuments et les sites
    4. Ephesus
    5. Fortified City of Famagusta
    6. Golden Gate Bridge
    7. Historic University Towns of Oxford and Cambridge
    8. Jebel Shams, Wadi Nakhur, and Wadi Ghul
    9. Major Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright
    10. Minoan palaces of Crete
    11. Panama Canal
    12. Pharaonic Temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu
    13. Railways of the Andes
    14. Silk Roads
    15. Svalbard
    16. Tempelhof Airport, Berlin
    17. Tobolsk
    18. Transiberian Railway
    19. Vatnajökull National Park
    20. Vers une architecture: Major Buildings of Le Corbusier

    Top 200 WHS

    1. Isole Eolie
    2. Birka and Hovgarden
    3. L'Anse aux Meadows
    4. Brasilia
    5. Shibam
    6. Sana'a
    7. Old City of Jerusalem
    8. Rome
    9. Istanbul
    10. Venice and its Lagoon
    11. Camino Real
    12. Island of Gorée
    13. Grand Canal
    14. Qhapaq Ñan
    15. Silk Roads
    16. Moenjodaro
    17. Sukhothai
    18. Angkor
    19. Rock Art of Alta
    20. Altamira Cave
    21. Iguazu National Park
    22. Lake Baikal
    23. Victoria Falls
    24. Kenya Lake System
    25. Central Amazon Conservation Complex
    26. Works of Antoni Gaudí
    27. Nasca Lines
    28. Stonehenge
    29. Chichen-Itza
    30. Tikal National Park
    31. St. Petersburg
    32. Florence
    33. Tyre
    34. Site of Carthage
    35. Classical Gardens of Suzhou
    36. Wadi Al-Hitan
    37. Fasil Ghebbi
    38. Versailles
    39. Imperial Palace
    40. Ancient Merv
    41. Palmyra
    42. Petra
    43. Persepolis
    44. Rwenzori Mountains
    45. Tajik National Park
    46. Simien National Park
    47. Great Himalayan National Park
    48. Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch
    49. Machu Picchu
    50. Kilimanjaro National Park
    51. Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines
    52. Fortified City of Carcassonne
    53. Great Wall
    54. Agra Fort
    55. Robben Island
    56. Statue of Liberty
    57. Auschwitz Birkenau
    58. Vilnius
    59. Old City of Berne
    60. Cesky Krumlov
    61. Brugge
    62. Cracow
    63. Dubrovnik
    64. Bryggen
    65. Maritime Greenwich
    66. Great Barrier Reef
    67. Cuzco
    68. Ha Long Bay
    69. Soltaniyeh
    70. Selimiye Mosque
    71. Meidan Emam, Esfahan
    72. Ilulissat Icefjord
    73. Virgin Komi Forests
    74. Tropical Rainforest Sumatra
    75. Serengeti
    76. Ngorongoro
    77. Yellowstone
    78. Galapagos Islands
    79. Ancient Kyoto
    80. Völklingen Ironworks
    81. Falun Great Copper Mountain
    82. Ironbridge Gorge
    83. Grand Canyon
    84. Ancient Thebes
    85. Salamanca
    86. Dengfeng
    87. Jantar Mantar
    88. Virunga National Park
    89. Tassili n'Ajjer
    90. Namib Sand Sea
    91. Costiera Amalfitana
    92. Orkhon Valley
    93. Kew Gardens
    94. Persian Garden
    95. Wadi Rum
    96. Quito
    97. Meroe
    98. Great Zimbabwe Ruins
    99. Kremlin and Red Square
    100. Sydney Opera House
    101. Mount Athos
    102. Westminster
    103. Saint Catherine Area
    104. Piazza del Duomo (Pisa)
    105. Vatican City
    106. Ravenna
    107. Lalibela
    108. Aachen Cathedral
    109. Göreme NP
    110. Imperial Tombs
    111. Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
    112. Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
    113. Taj Mahal
    114. Pyramids (Memphis)
    115. Mount Emei, including Leshan Giant Buddha
    116. Mogao Caves
    117. Potala Palace
    118. Kathmandu Valley
    119. Bukhara
    120. Ping Yao
    121. Samarkand
    122. Medina of Fez
    123. Kairouan
    124. Medina of Marrakesh
    125. Damascus
    126. Historic Cairo
    127. Timgad
    128. Dougga/Thugga
    129. Frontiers of the Roman Empire
    130. Pont du Gard
    131. Leptis Magna
    132. Pompei
    133. Villa Romana del Casale
    134. Cyrene
    135. Agrigento
    136. Acropolis
    137. Olympia
    138. Timbuktu
    139. Ghadames
    140. Aksum
    141. Volcanoes of Kamchatka
    142. Mount Etna
    143. Surtsey